Gear

One of the most important pieces of equipment in mushing is your headlamp. There are many on the market, ranging from inexpensive ones you pick up at the local hardware store to the best headlamp in the world.

For us at Team Ineka, the Lupine Betty R14 takes the crown by a devastating landslide. They not only spec’d a 4500 lumen light but they also backed it up. This light is almost scary in brightness level and one really has to look away from the light head or risk seeing ‘stars’ for a moment. Most ‘good’ headlamps will allow the musher to see about half his team from his position on the runners. With the Lupine Betty R14 you can see the lead dogs and much further down the trail.

The good news is the light levels are very configurable all the way to 40 Lumens without any flicker at all. This one system can serve many purposes from the longest marathon races, like the Iditarod to quick chores around the dog yard.

One of the coolest features is the remote. It is so tiny, so easy to activate and so fast. It has a long range and is dependable and lightning quick. This makes it actually useable and easy to change light levels as it will be right at your thumbs. We plan to mount the remote to our sled on the handlebar next fall.

We want to thank Dale at The Upholstery Gallery for making it possible to add this awesome piece of equipment.

Specifications (from the Lupine website)

• Price: $1175
• Claimed Lumens: 4500 Lumens
• Measured Lumens: 4280 Lumens
• Measured MTBR Lux: 440 Lux
• Lumens per $: 3.66 Lumens
• Lumens per gram: 7.70 Lumens
• Time on High: 1:30 Hours
• Charge Time: 2:00 Hours
• Mounted Weight: 530 grams
• Category: High End

Strengths

• Excellent 26 degree, even beam pattern
• It includes a remote that is very useable
• Insane brightness at 4280 Lumens
• 7.5 hour run time at 900 Lumens or 1.5 hours at 4280
• Excellent charger and smart battery with indicator
• Lupine quality and reputation
• Can be used with impressive array of Lupine batteries
• Amazing temperature management that will step down and step up the light brightness based on the air movement and ventilation available

Weaknesses

• It is $1175
• Can get hot when stationary and will step down in brightness as the light head is small
• At this brightness level, it should be wider than 26 degrees

Mounting

There is a wide array of mounting options. We purchased the headband for the Betty R from Grenta Bikes for $44.00.

We purchased this headlamp late in the season, we can’t wait for next fall to use this everyday on the sled dog trails.

People have asked what gear we use when we are out on the trail with our teams. Here in Willow it can get very cold out on the trails and rivers where we run our teams in training. The coldest I have seen in my three seasons is a recorded minus 36 degrees (F). Over the coming days we will share what we have found that works best for us. Many people need more or less but as they say in Alaska there is no such thing as a bad day, just bad gear.

Parka

I, Robert, use a Wintergreen Northern Wear  expedition shell anorak with a liner in size 2XL. I bought it a size bigger than I normally wear because I want to be able to layer.

This parka has been used by expeditions to the North and South Pole so it has to be good enough for mushing, right?

You bet.

When I purchased this parka online I didn’t know what to expect at first. It is very light compared to others from companies like Cabela’s and Canada Goose. It is down filled and lined with a heavy fleece liner inside that can be removed if you like.